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North Dakota County
Williams County, North Dakota
Williston - epicenter of the Bakken oil boom - from the Bakken Formation's Williams County explosion (the hydraulic fracturing revolution that unlocked the Bakken Formation's vast oil deposits transformed Williston from a quiet prairie town of 12,000 into one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States - at the boom's peak, Williston's population doubled, man camps sprawled across the prairie, motel rooms commanded $300 per night, and the city's McDonald's was reportedly the highest-grossing in the country - the Bakken made North Dakota the second largest oil-producing state in the US) and Lake Sakakawea's Williams County shoreline recreation.
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Office: Williams County Emergency Management – 3429 4th Ave W, PO Box 2047, Williston, ND 58802-2047
Services: Works before, during, and after emergencies on planning, response, recovery, and mitigation; offers the Williams County ALERT notification system; monitors local air quality via a PurpleAir sensor for the Williston area.
Sheriff: Williams County Sheriff’s Office – 223 E Broadway Ste 301, Williston, ND 58801 | (701) 577-7700; Sheriff Verlan Kvande, Chief Deputy Kevin Simmons.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-2 and US-85 serve Williston, the county seat and largest city, in far northwestern North Dakota on the Montana border; US-85B serves as an eastern truck bypass around Williston, built as a temporary solution to the surge in truck traffic from the North Dakota oil boom.
Notes: Williams County spans 2,147 square miles; the Missouri River forms its southern boundary near its confluence with the Yellowstone River.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Williams County Building Division – Williams County Administration Building, 2nd Floor, 206 East Broadway, Williston, ND 58801 | PO Box 2047, Williston, ND 58802-2047
Services: Building permits, plan reviews, and inspections under the North Dakota State Building Code (2026 edition, based on the 2024 International Building Code); also assigns addresses to parcels outside city jurisdiction.
Notes: Williams County was organized in 1891 and named for Erastus Appleman Williams, an early territorial official. The county sits at the heart of the Bakken oil formation, and the 21st-century North Dakota oil boom transformed Williston from a small agricultural trading town into one of the fastest-growing small cities in the country, driving significant new housing, road, and infrastructure development still ongoing today.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Williams County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via williamsnd.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Williston Community Library – Williston, ND 58801.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Williams County sits at the historic crossroads of the fur trade and Bakken oil eras. Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site and Fort Buford State Historic Site, both near Williston at the Missouri-Yellowstone confluence, preserve the region’s 19th-century fur trade and military history; the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center and a Lewis and Clark Trail Museum are also nearby. Spring Lake Park and the Raymond Family Community Center serve Williston’s rapidly growing population, a legacy of the North Dakota oil boom’s population surge.
Notes: Williams County’s dual heritage – as a 19th-century fur trade crossroads and as the epicenter of the 21st-century Bakken oil boom – is a genuine and distinctive local story.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Williams County Recorder/Assessor – confirm current contact via williamsnd.com.
Services: A city-owned and operated shelter for lost or homeless dogs and cats; strays held five days before becoming available for adoption or rescue transfer; adopters have 30 days to spay/neuter, vaccinate, and license the animal. Also serving the region: Mondak Humane Society, PO Box 1572, Williston, ND 58802, and The Stray Sanctuary, PO Box 1733, Williston, ND 58802, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rescue.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Williams County – confirm current contact via williamsnd.com.
Notes: Oil and gas drilling activity, well permitting, and related environmental oversight are significant ongoing local concerns given the county’s position within the Bakken formation.
NOTES
Williams County’s dual heritage – as a 19th-century fur trade crossroads at the Missouri-Yellowstone confluence and as the epicenter of the 21st-century Bakken oil boom – is a genuine and distinctive local story. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of mid-August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Williams County
Williams County is the epicenter of the Bakken oil boom – the hydraulic fracturing revolution that transformed Williston from a quiet prairie town into a boomtown of doubled population, $300 motel rooms, and the highest oil royalty income in North Dakota defined one of the most dramatic energy booms in American history.
Williston (the county seat, population ~27,000) has navigated the boom-bust cycle of oil prices while building permanent infrastructure – the Williston State College and expanded hospital reflect long-term investment in the community’s future.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Williams County Tax Director at 206 E. Broadway, Suite 100, Williston, ND 58801, phone 701-577-4530. ND residential assessed at 50% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Williams County District Court at 206 E. Broadway, Williston, ND 58801, phone 701-577-4555, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
205 East Broadway, Williston, ND 58801
(701) 577-4550
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Williams County Clerk of District Court, Williston (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Williams County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Williams County Clerk of District Court – Northwest Judicial District 205 East Broadway (mail: P.O. Box 2047), Williston, ND 58802 (701) 774-4374
Williams County is in northwestern North Dakota, seated in Williston, at the heart of the Bakken oil-producing region – one of the fastest-growing counties in the country during the 2010s oil boom.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
North Dakota has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), under Title 30.1 of the North Dakota Century Code – one of only about 18 states to do so. Probate is handled through the state District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (Form 1, NDCC § 30.1-23) – available when the estate’s personal property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 (raised from $50,000 by 2025’s HB 1224) AND there is no real property in the estate. Requires a 30-day wait after death, no court filing. Mineral and oil/gas rights are classified as real property and can never be transferred by this affidavit – this is a critical distinction in Williams County given the density of oil and mineral estates tied to Bakken production; many estates here require formal or informal probate specifically because of mineral holdings even when other assets are modest.
Informal Probate – available when less than 3 years have passed since death, the validity of the will isn’t disputed, and everyone with equal or higher priority for appointment agrees on the personal representative. No court hearing required; unsupervised administration is the default.
Formal Probate – required when the will’s validity is contested, someone objects to informal probate, or more than 3 years have passed since death.
Supervised Administration – a court can require ongoing supervision if protection of the estate calls for it.
Step 2: filing for administration
File an Application (informal) or Petition (formal) for Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court/registrar issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) to the personal representative.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors; North Dakota’s creditor claim period is 3 months from first publication.
The personal representative inventories and manages the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or North Dakota’s intestacy law.
The estate is closed with a final accounting/closing statement.
What it costs
No court filing fee for the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property.
Filing fees for informal/formal probate vary but generally follow the statewide statutory schedule.
North Dakota does NOT have a statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be “reasonable” based on services provided.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
206 East Broadway, Williston, ND 58801
(701) 577-4560
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
205 East Broadway, Williston, ND 58801
(701) 577-4500
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Upper Missouri District Health Unit
316 2nd Ave West, Williston, ND 58801
(701) 774-6400
Social Services
8 East Broadway, Williston, ND 58801
(701) 577-4550
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Williams County Public Health – confirm current contact via williamsnd.com.
Hospital: CHI St. Alexius Health-Williston Medical Center – Williston, ND, part of the CHI St. Alexius Health regional system based in Bismarck (founded 1885), serving western North Dakota.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Williston
Population: 40,000
Established: 1873
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Williams County residents.
